One Sunday afternoon, Kenneth and Filomena, who live in Curaçao, went to visit a married couple with whom they were conducting a Bible study.

“When we arrived,” relates Kenneth, “the house was closed up and the car was gone. But something impelled me to call the wife’s phone.”

The woman answered the call and explained that her husband was at work. However, as soon as she realized that Kenneth and Filomena were there, she came to the door and invited them in.

They could immediately see that she had been crying. As Kenneth began the Bible study by opening with prayer, the woman started to cry again. So Kenneth and Filomena kindly asked her what was wrong.

The woman explained that she had planned to kill herself that very afternoon, and she was writing a suicide note to her husband when Kenneth’s phone call stopped her. She told them that she was suffering from depression, so they shared with her some comforting thoughts from the Bible. That encouragement proved to be a lifesaver.

“We thanked Jehovah for letting us help this distraught lady,” says Kenneth, “and especially for moving us​—perhaps by an angel or by His holy spirit—​to make that phone call!”a

Are Kenneth and Filomena right to believe that God intervened, whether by means of an angel or by His holy spirit, or active force? Or was Kenneth’s timely phone call simply a happy coincidence?

We cannot say for sure. But what we do know is that God uses his angels to help people spiritually. For example, the Bible says that God used an angel to direct the Christian evangelizer Philip to help an Ethiopian official who was looking for spiritual guidance.​—Acts 8:26-31.

Various religions promote belief in supernatural spirit creatures, some of whom are portrayed as benevolent creatures who carry out God’s will or act as personal guardians. Many people believe not only that angels exist but also that those spirits affect them in some meaningful way. However, many other people do not believe in angels at all.

Are angels real? If so, what is their origin? What is the truth about angels? Can they affect your life? Let us examine the evidence.

• Just as God is a Spirit, angels too are invisible spirits who do “not have flesh and bones.” The loyal angels reside in the heavens and have direct access to God’s heavenly presence.​—Luke 24:39; Matthew 18:10; John 4:24.

• Angels have at times appeared in human form to care for God-given assignments on earth and then dematerialized after completing their assignments.​—Judges 6:11-23; 13:15-20.

• Although angels are presented in the Bible as males and have always materialized as males, there is no male or female distinction among them. They do not marry and reproduce their own kind. Moreover, angels did not first come into existence as humans on earth​—whether as babies, children, or adults. Angels were created by Jehovah; thus the Bible calls them “sons of the true God.”​—Job 1:6; Psalm 148:2, 5.

• The Bible speaks of “the tongues of men and of angels,” indicating that spirit persons have language and speech. Although God has used angels to communicate with humans, he does not permit us to worship angels or pray to them.​—1 Corinthians 13:1; Revelation 22:8, 9.

• There are myriads upon myriads of angels, perhaps numbering into the billions.a​—Daniel 7:10; Revelation 5:11.

• Angels are “mighty in power”​—much more powerful than humans—​and they have superhuman intelligence. They evidently can travel at tremendous speeds, far exceeding the limits of the physical world.​—Psalm 103:20; Daniel 9:20-23.

• Despite their higher mental and spiritual powers, angels have limitations, and there are some things they do not know.​—Matthew 24:36; 1 Peter 1:12.

• Angels were created with personalities, divine qualities, and free will. Hence, like humans, they can choose to do right or wrong. Sadly, some angels chose to rebel against God.​—Jude 6.

The Bible does not teach that each individual has a guardian angel. True, Jesus once said: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones [Christ’s disciples], for I tell you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10) However, rather than implying that each person has a guardian angel, Jesus was simply saying that angels take an active interest in each of his disciples. Hence, true worshippers do not take unwise and careless risks, presuming that God’s angels will protect them.

Does that mean that angels do not help humans? No. (Psalm 91:11) Some feel quite strongly that God has provided them with angelic protection and guidance. Kenneth, mentioned in the opening article, is one who feels that way. Though we cannot be dogmatic, he may be correct. Jehovah’s Witnesses frequently see evidence of angelic intervention as they engage in their preaching work. However, because angels are invisible, we cannot say to what extent God uses them in helping individuals with various matters. Nevertheless, we cannot go wrong by thanking the Almighty for whatever support he may have provided.​—Colossians 3:15; James 1:17, 18.

Yes, there are evil angels. Where did they come from? Recall that God created angels with the gift of free will. Shortly after the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were created, a perfect spirit creature abused his freedom of choice and instigated rebellion on earth. He succeeded in getting Adam and Eve to rebel against God. (Genesis 3:1-7; Revelation 12:9) The Bible does not specify what this spirit creature’s name was or what rank he held in heaven before he rebelled. But after his rebellion, the Bible appropriately calls him Satan, which means “Resister,” and the Devil, which means “Slanderer.”​—Matthew 4:8-11.

Sadly, the ungodly rebellion did not end there. In Noah’s day an unspecified number of angels “forsook their own proper dwelling place” in God’s heavenly family. They came down to the earth and took on fleshly bodies to pursue a depraved and immoral course, deviating from the purpose of their existence.​—Jude 6; Genesis 6:1-4; 1 Peter 3:19, 20.

What became of those evil angels? When God brought a global deluge to sweep the earth clean, they dematerialized and returned to the spirit realm. However, God did not permit the disgraced angels to return to “their original position.” Instead, he confined them to a debased condition of “dense [spiritual] darkness,” known as Tartarus. (Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:4) These demons have placed themselves under the control of Satan the Devil, “the ruler of the demons,” who “keeps disguising himself as an angel of light.”​—Matthew 12:24; 2 Corinthians 11:14.

The Bible teaches that God’s Messianic Kingdom, a heavenly government, was established in 1914.a Following that momentous event, Satan and his demons were ousted from heaven and confined to the vicinity of the earth. The rampant wickedness and gross immorality that plague our planet are evidence of their vengeful and destructive influence.​—Revelation 12:9-12.

However, the increase in depravity and shocking violence confirm that the end of their reign of terror is near. Soon, these tyrannical spirit creatures will be taken out of action. After God’s Kingdom has ruled over a paradise earth for 1,000 years, those wicked spirits will have one brief, final opportunity to test humankind. Then they will be destroyed forever.​—Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10.

The Bible shows that in order to accomplish God’s will, angels have at times provided a measure of protection for true worshippers. (Psalm 34:7) For example:

• When Jehovah brought destruction on the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, angels helped righteous Lot and his family to flee.​—Genesis 19:1, 15-26.

• In ancient Babylon when three young Hebrews were condemned to die in a fiery furnace, God “sent his angel and rescued his servants.”​—Daniel 3:19-28.

• After the righteous man Daniel spent the night in a den of ravenous lions, he explained that he had survived because “God sent his angel and shut the mouth of the lions.”​—Daniel 6:16, 22.

At times, God’s angelic messengers intervened in the activities of the early Christian congregation when that was necessary to fulfill Jehovah’s purpose. For example:

• An angel opened the doors of a prison and directed the apostles imprisoned there to continue preaching in the temple.​—Acts 5:17-21.

• An angel instructed the evangelizer Philip to go to the desert road that ran from Jerusalem to Gaza and preach to an Ethiopian who had gone to Jerusalem to worship.​—Acts 8:26-33.

• When it was God’s time for non-Jews to become Christians, an angel appeared to the Roman army officer Cornelius in a vision and instructed him to summon the apostle Peter to his home.​—Acts 10:3-5.

• When the apostle Peter was imprisoned, an angel appeared to him and led him out of the prison.​—Acts 12:1-11.

There is no evidence that God is now using angels to help people miraculously in the ways described in the Bible. However, regarding our time, Jesus said: “This good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) Did you know that Christ’s disciples are doing this work under the supervision of the angels?

The book of Revelation indicates that angels would be diligently helping people earth wide to learn about Jehovah God and his purpose for mankind. The apostle John wrote: “I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. He was saying in a loud voice: ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgment by him has arrived, so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.’” (Revelation 14:6, 7) Many modern-day experiences give evidence that angels are supporting the worldwide Kingdom-preaching work. Indeed, when even one sinner repents and turns to Jehovah, “joy arises among the angels of God.”​—Luke 15:10.

What will happen when the preaching work is completed? Then angelic “armies in heaven” will support Jesus Christ, the King of kings, in fighting “the war of the great day of God the Almighty” at Armageddon. (Revelation 16:14-16; 19:14-16) Powerful angels will serve as executioners of divine judgment as the Lord Jesus “brings vengeance on those who . . . do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus.”​—2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8.

Be assured, therefore, that the angels are personally interested in you. They have deep concern for the welfare of those who desire to serve God, and Jehovah has repeatedly used them to strengthen and protect his faithful servants on earth.​—Hebrews 1:14.

Each one of us, then, has a crucial choice to make. Will we listen to and obey the good news that is being proclaimed earth wide? Jehovah’s Witnesses in your community will be happy to assist you to benefit from the loving help of God’s mighty angels.